2: In 3000 B.C. city-states form in Sumer, Mesopotamia. During this era solutions to many survival issues were created such as irrigation. There were dynasty's that had power and ruled. The Sumerians absorbed ideas such as religious beliefs from neighboring cultures, this was known as cultural diffusion. In the Babylonian Empire Hammurabi created the "Hammurabi code. These civilizations laid the foundations for political centralization and organization upon which nearly all subsequent civilizations are built. They also provided many of the roots of human civilization all the way to the present including the practices of monument building, written articulation of legal codes, and the construction of the legal and political infrastructures necessary to run a central government of a state. | Ancient River Valley Civilization

3: What If.... | What if people had not learned how to farm? If farming had not been an agricultural invention a lot of other things wouldn't have been necessary to invent. Without growing cotton, you wouldn't need the cotton gin or the plow or anything that aided farming itself. Farming allowed people to stop living the nomadic lifestyle and build more of permanent homes. People would never know the difference and probably would have been living the nomadic lifestyle long there after. Farming brought the formation of different roles between males and females. Males were still in charge of the work in the fields but because cotton, wheat and vegetables could be grown women were able to cook more varieties and use more of their recourses. They were also able to make clothes and master different techniques that made life easier. So without farming none of this would have affected the Ancient River Valley Civilization and later on other civilizations. | city-state - a city and its surrounding lands functioning as an independent political unit irrigation - the bringing of water to crop fields by means of canals and ditches cultural diffusion - the spreading of ideas or products from one culture to another\ Hammurabi's code - a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1700 BC, it is one of the oldest codes written

4: Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world.In its centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to an oligarchic republic to an increasingly autocratic empire. It came to dominate South-Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe/Balkans and the Mediterranean region through conquest and assimilation. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire, including Italy, Hispania, Gaul, Britannia and Africa broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This disintegration is the landmark historians use to divide the ancient period from the medieval era and the "Dark Ages". | Vocabulary civilization- an advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, industry, and government has been reached. empire- a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom oligarchy- a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few. disintegrate- to separate into parts or lose intactness or solidness; break up; deteriorate | Classical Greece/Rome

5: What if Rome did not fall? | If Rome had not fallen, it would have maintained it's dominant role in that era. Rome was one of the largest, most powerful empires to ever have risen. If it didn't fall, the reign of the empire would have lasted much longer and had even more of an impact on the governments of today's society, in addition to introducing even more ideas for modern rulers to follow. | What if....

6: Africa was extremely diverse culturally. It was known for the largest desert, the Sahara. They lived on the savannas, or grassy plains. They went from the nomadic lifestyle to more of a permanent lifestyle. Their primary home groups included not only siblings and parents but also their extended family. Nearly all of the local religions involved a belief in one creator, or god. They generally also included elements of animism. Bantu Migration was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group. This was the main reasoning for the many different languages and cultures through out Africa. | Post Classical Africa

7: What If... | What if the Bantu Migrations did not take place in Africa? | The Bantu Migrations led to the expansion and creation of many, many different languages throughout all of Africa. Had the Bantu Migrations never occurred then there is a possibility that there were would very few different languages. There wouldn't be quite as many different cultures and tribes. Without as many tribes and cultural differences then there most likely wouldn't be a lot of turmoil amongst them. Africa would be a lot more united and would be a strong continental power. However the Bantu Migrations did occur and now Africa is one of the most lingual and diverse continents. | Sahara - the world's largest desert (3,500,000 square miles) in northern Africa. savanna - A grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees. extended family - A family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives, who typically all live nearby or in one household. nomadic - migratory animism - belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe

8: The Post-Classical Era is the period of Western history, between 500 and 1453 CE., following the fall of the great classical empires in the Mediterranean region. In European history the Post-Classical Era coincides with and is more commonly known as the Middle Ages. While after the fall of the classical western empires, civilizations emerged to form complex tribal societies. The years between 500-1000 CE is referred to as the High Post-Classical Era. During this period, the Eastern world empires continued to expand through trade, migration and conquests of neighboring areas. | Post-Classical (Medieval) Europe | Vocabulary: region- the vast or indefinite entirety of a space or area, or something compared to one society- a body of individuals living as members of a community trade- the act or process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities, at either wholesale or retail, within a country or between countries migration- to go from one country, region, or place to another.

9: What If... | What if the Black Plague did not attack Western Europe? | If the Black Plague had not effected Western Europe its population would most likely be greater than it is now. The black plague wiped out around 1.5 million people. After the black plague and even during medical inventions and medical expenses were paid special attention to. A lot came from the black plague, a lot of change. Changes in the size of civilization led to changes in trade, the church, music and art, and many other things. Western Europe was so heavily populated and was one of the largest and most developed. After the black plague.

10: The European Renaissance and the Reformation occurred during the 1300-1600. The Renaissance began and Italy and later spread to the north. The Renaissance lead to humanism and the basic spirit of the Renaissance was secular. The Renaissance revolutionized art and give new perspectives of three dimensions. People like Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were huge Renaissance artists. Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press during the Renaissance. Gutenberg printed a complete bible, the Gutenberg Bible, in about 1455. The printing press lead to an increased number of literate people and an increase in education. The reformation was a movement for religious reform. It led to the founding of Christian churches that did not accept the pope's authority. Marin Luther wrote the 95 Theses that attacked the "pardon-merchants" On October 31, 1517 he posted his theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Tensions rose and in response to the theses the pope threatened Luther and Luther fled, later he began a separate religious group with his followers, called Lutheran. | The Renaissance & The Reformation

11: What if... | What if Gutenberg hadn't invented the printing press? | Gutenberg's printing press raised the literacy and education rates during this time period. If it had not been invented, books, bibles, and other documents would not have been able to be published and distributed to the people. There would have been another long period of time before the literacy rate began to increase. Therefore, without the printing press, more people would have been illiterate than so. | Renaissance- a period of European history during which renewed interest in classical culture led to far-reaching changes in art, learning, and views of the world humanism - a renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements secular - concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters printing press - a machine for reproducing written material by pressing paper against arrangements of inked type Lutheran - a member of a Protestant church founded on the teachings of Martin Luther

12: Once time hit the middle of the 18th century, new ideas about human society and government were spreading throughout Europe. This "intellectual movement" known as the Enlightenment introduced revolutionary ideas such as democracy and individual rights. Before that, the Scientific Revolution provided a new way of thinking about the natural world, such as the heliocentric theory, scientific method, medicine, and more. The Enlightenment was known as the Age of Reason and it reached it's height in the mid-1700s. Natural Rights were sparked according to those who thought all people were born free and equal. The separation of powers that we see in many of today's governments became a main influence during the Enlightenment in Europe. The Declaration of Independence that we are so familiar with in America was issued in July 1776, firmly based on the ideas of the Enlightenment. | Enlightenment & Revolutions

13: Vocabulary: Heliocentric Theory- The idea that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun Scientific Method- logical procedure for gathering information about the natural world, in which experimentation and observation are used to test hypotheses Natural Rights- The right that all people are born with-- according to John Locke, the rights of life, liberty, and property Separation of Powers- the assignment of executive, legislative, and judicial powers to different groups of officials in a government | If the ideas of the Enlightenment were not embraced by the colonists, the Declaration of Independence would have been completely different considering it was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment. | What if.... | the ideas of the Enlightenment were not embraced by the colonists?

14: In June of 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. Then, a month later, Austria declared war on Serbia and so began World War I. During this time, militarism was introduced because having a large and strong standing army made citizens feel patriotic. In World War I there were two opposing forces, the allies and the central powers. The Central Powers. The central powers formed a triple alliance, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. The Allies were Great Britain, France and Russia. | Japan later joined them. Nine months later Italy withdrew the alliance with Germany claiming it was only made as a defensive strategy. Italy soon joined the Allies. There was a deadlocked region in northern France known as the Western Front which was were long battles were fought. The armies used a type of ware fare called trench ware fare. Each side was continuously having to send men to th Eastern Front. After long continuous battles and many, many fatalities the Allies finally defeated the Central powers and the war was over. | World War I

15: Vocabulary *Militarism - a policy of glorifying military power and keeping a standing army always prepared for war *Triple Alliance - a military alliance between Germany, Austria- Hungary, and Italy in the years proceeding World War I *Western Front - in world ware I the region of northern France where the forces of the allies and the central powers battled each other *Trench ware fare - a form of ware fare in which apposing armies fight each other from trenches dug in the battlefield *Eastern Front - in world war I the region along the German Russian border where Russians and Serbs battled Germans, Austrians and turks | What If.... | What if Germany had not been solely blamed for World War I? | The main factor would be that World War II most likely wouldn't have started. Germany was blamed and therefore they rebelled. Germany suffered hard consequences such as limited military privileges and they suffered from a poor economy due to war debt. Germany took the entire blame and therefore took matters into their own hands and created another mess, World War II. If Germany hadn't been blamed, a lot of other conflicts would have been prevented.

16: In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, sparking World War II. Two groups of countries, called the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers faced off in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific. Throughout this war, a man named Adolf Hitler was in the midst of organizing concentration camps in order to exterminate minority groups, such as Jewish people. The time period that consisted of these efforts to isolate and kill specific people was called the Holocaust. Throughout the | year World War II, France surrendered to Germany, Germany invaded Russia, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the Allies defeated Japan, Germany surrendered, and atomic bombs were dropped, causing Japan to surrender, and thus ending the war. Vocabulary: Axis Powers- Great Britain, France, Russia, United States Allied Powers- Germany, Italy, Japan Concentration Camps- Where prisoners were kept to die of hard labor, poor nutrition, disease, poison gas, etc. Holocaust- mass slaughter of civilians, especially Jews | World War II

17: What if.... | the U.S. had not dropped the Atomic Bombs on Japan? | Right before World War II began, scientists in Germany succeeded in splitting the nucleus of a uranium atom, which produced an unbelievable amount of energy. The U.S. was warned that Nazi Germany may have been working to develop atomic weapons. Roosevelt named the American's program for making an atomic bomb the "Manhattan Project" and wanted to be sure to make the United States the first to develop the bomb. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Honshu (a Japanese island). If this event never occurred, surely another country would be the victim of this ultimate weapon. As far as World War II itself is concerned, the war most likely would have lasted longer because the threat on Japan after the atomic bomb was what caused them to surrender and ended the war.

18: Increasing conflicts led to the Cold War, a war between the NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The Truman Doctrine in March 1947 promised that the USA "would support free peoples who are resisting" communism. This was the United States' first outward act of containment. Then began the spread of communism. The cold war was two different sides, one side for communism and one against communism. Countries like China, Cuba, North Vietnam and North Korea were all for communism and were all controlled by the Soviet Union, USSR. Other countries like the United States, France, Great Britain, and West Germany supported capitalism instead of communism | Big events in the Cold War included the Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall, the launching of Sputnik and the Vietnam War. The Cold War was also a constant competition and a very hostile time between the United States and the Soviet Union. There was constant competition between nuclear bombs and was a long race to see who could perfect ICBMs, or missiles. | Cold War

19: What if.... | What if the Soviet Union had landed on the moon first and not the United States? | If the Soviet Union had landed on the moon first instead of the United States, technology may have developed much faster in the U.S. in the attempt to bypass Russia in their technological abilities. | NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European nations, the US and Canada Warsaw Pact - a military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and seven Easter European countries Truman Doctrine - a U.S. policy of giving economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents, announced by President Harry Truman in 1947 Containment - policy of containing communism where it is Capitalism -